Social Media Policy

Purpose

This policy establishes guidelines for the management of City of Victoria social media channels, ensuring a respectful and constructive environment for community engagement while safeguarding against abusive and disrespectful language, misinformation and generally unproductive content.

Policy Statement

The City’s social media channels are valuable tools for communication and engagement with our community. To maintain a safe, productive and meaningful space, public comments are disabled on our posts. This protects both the community and staff from exposure to harmful content. Users can like and share City content within their own networks and direct messaging will remain open. The community is encouraged to reach out with their questions and staff will respond in a timely manner. 

Please note that Mayor and Council do not moderate the City of Victoria’s social media channels. If you would like to contact Mayor and Council directly, please email: mayorandcouncil@victoria.ca.

Exceptions for Emergencies

In the event of an emergency, the City may enable comments on specific posts to support critical information sharing and community awareness. The decision to allow comments during emergencies is at the discretion of the Communications and Engagement Department. 

Commitment to Open Dialogue

The City remains committed to open dialogue and community feedback and provides multiple ways for residents and visitors to provide input. The public can email or call City departments, contact Mayor and Council, drop in to City Hall and participate in public engagement opportunities such as open houses, online info sessions and public surveys. Requests for service can be submitted by phone and through online request forms.

Monitoring and Enforcement

The Communications and Engagement Department monitors social media channels to ensure adherence to this policy. Any content that violates the guidelines below will be promptly addressed. We will not respond to direct messages that:

• Include language that is abusive, harassing, hateful or threatening
• Are racial, sexist, homophobic, graphic or obscene
• Constitute spam or are solicitations for products or services 

Anyone who repeatedly violates the above guidelines may be prevented from accessing these accounts at the discretion of the City of Victoria Communications and Engagement team. These accounts are not monitored 24/7. Call 250.361.0400 for calls for service (24/7) or 911 for emergencies. For a complete list of department contact info, visit victoria.ca/contact-us.

Review and Update

This policy will be reviewed and updated as necessary to reflect the evolving nature of social media and the needs of our community.